The present invention relates to a novel and useful system for providing medical information of a subject.
Persons often possess a medical history which is critical to persons administering medical treatment, especially in emergency situations. For example, a medical history may include information concerning prior heart attacks, asthmatic conditions, allergic reactions to medicines, and the like. In addition, medical treatment is often predicted on medical insurance information which must be communicated to the entity administering medical treatment. Moreover, particular types of treatment should be communicated to emergency medical personnel such as xe2x80x9cdo not resuscitatexe2x80x9d (DNR) orders. When a patient is conscious, such medical information is easily obtained. However, when the patient is unconscious, such items are unknown and must be obtained from other sources which often entails a time delay and can result in a life or death situation.
In the past, compact carrying devices have been proposed for transporting personal items such as medicines, candies, film, and the like. For example, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 137,496, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 263,622, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,485 describe this type of article.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,091 shows a storage apparatus for carrying medical information on a microfiche chip.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,497 shows a container which holds personal documents such as a codicil.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,573,663 describes container having a spring ring which contains a motor vehicle license.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 632,167 and 2,729,913 illustrate containers for writing implements and fishing flies, respectively.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,151,740 and 4,333,562 teach cap seals which retain vital information papers.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,197,665, 4,249,330, 4,327,512, and 4,920,672 show pendants and cap seals which are used to contain medical information in carious formats.
A system which stores medical information about a subject and alerts medical personnel to the existence of the same would be a notable advance in the medical field.
In accordance with the present invention a novel and useful system for providing emergency/medical information of a subject is herein provided.
The system of the present invention utilizes a document which lists emergency/medical information concerning a subject. Such medical information may include emergency contacts, consent forms, insurance coverage identification, medical history information, such as past heart attacks, strokes, and the like, as well as medical conditions which exist such as asthma, hemophilia, and similar afflictions. In addition, allergies to medical treatments, such as penicillin, may be listed. Other pertinent items such as the lack of medical history, xe2x80x9cdo not resuscitatexe2x80x9d (DNR) orders, organ donation wishes, and the like may also be listed on the document. The document may be formed of a conventional sheet of paper of normal size and be rolled or folded into a compact form.
A container is also found in the present invention for holding the compacted document. Such container may take the form of a two-piece canister which fastens together into a single object. The canister may be constructed into an airtight configuration with the proper gasketing or seals to achieve this result. Means is also found for positioning the container to a particular place such as the inside of a cabinet, the inside of a refrigerator, a glove compartment of a car, a case affixed to a vehicle and in other protected areas. Such means may take the form of a clip, a magnetic holder, Velcro fasteners, and any other known support means.
Alerting means is also used in the present invention to direct emergency medical service personnel to the presence of the container and enclosed document. Such alerting means may take the form of an identifying indicia which is mountable to a surface in the vicinity of a place where the container is located, for example, at the entryway of a building, on the outside door of a cabinet, to the exterior of a refrigerator compartment, on an infant seat, and the like. In addition, alerting means is placed on the canister itself to allow the seeker of the canister quick access to the same. Moreover, the alerting means may be placed on other articles such as tags which are connected to briefcases, pocketbooks, belts of the subject, or any other personal items of the subject.
It may be apparent that a novel and useful system for providing medical information has been hereinabove described.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a system for communicating medical information on a subject which utilizes a container enclosing a document which is easy to carry, store, and retrieve.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system for communicating medical information of a subject to aid emergency rescue workers in the ascertaining of medical information in order to effect treatment of a subject who has been injured or medically distressed in some manner.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a system for communicating medical information which eliminates the use of phones, computer chips, or other time consuming devices in the obtaining of medical information of an injured subject.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system for communicating medical information which utilizes alerting means in the form of a symbol which is instantly recognizable by emergency medical personnel and indicates the presence and location of a medical document in a container.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a system for communicating medical information which utilizes a protected document which is easily updated and reviewable by physicians.